Direct Cyanoalkylation of Imines Driven by a Photoactive Electron Donor–Acceptor Complex

Abstract

β-Amino nitriles are important molecular scaffolds. Cyanoalkylation of imines is the most straightforward method for the construction of these scaffolds. In this study, we report the novel cyanoalkylation of imines via radical coupling enabled by a photoactive electron donor−acceptor complex. This strategy is characterized by mild conditions, broad reaction scopes, and high atom economy. The scalability and practicality of this strategy are demonstrated by a 40 g continuous flow system from which a variety of important pharmaceutical-related molecules were obtained.